Thursday, June 5, 2014


When I was young, balancing the ph in soil or water was somewhat familiar to me. But sadly, it wasn't until my early 50's that I realized how very important it is to have the proper pHbalance in your body. Searching for remedies to halt and reverse my newly discovered osteopenia led me to stumble upon the correlation between an acidic body and calcium being leached from my bones. The body does this in attempt to balance a pH that is too acid.
Learning about the acid/alkaline reactions in the body and their effects was truly an eye opener! When the body is too acidic an accumulation of acid waste is in the tissues, organs, blood vessels, muscles, etc. Testing the pH using saliva and urine is helpful but is not an exact indicator of the amount of acid waste actually in the system as the fluids are constantly running through all the tissues in an attempt to remove the excess acid waste. If not eliminated, the waste is put back into general circulation via reabsorbtion from the colon into the liver and deposited in the tissues It is this accumulation in our system that is the cause of so much ill health. 
An excellent book on the subject which covers causes, illnesses, diet, lifestyle and everything to reverse the effects of an acidic body is, Alkalize or Die: Superior Health Through Proper Alkaline-Acid Balance. While the title is startling, the book is an amazing source of information and explains the, "Rule of 80/20". This refers to eating 80% of your foods from the alkaline forming list and 20% from the acid forming list. But foods aren't all that can disrupt the body's pH and we all need to be more aware of the ill effects of processed foods, medications, alcohol and so much more. I have had the book for over 15 years and still refer to its food charts and recommendations. 
I did purchase diagnostic pH paper to test my saliva and urine just for a general idea of where my number was on the acid/alkaline adjustment scale. When I first started the testing, my body was quite a bit more acid than it should be. But it wasn't long before it started falling into balance by eating properly and taking certain supplements like calcium and magnesium. While I don't feel the need to test myself often, when I do, PHion Balance Diagnostic Ph Test Strips are what I use. Actually, I started listening to my body more and being an observer of what happens upon eating certain foods. If I eat brown rice and tofu without enough vegetables, I can feel my pH is off and one look at the coating on my tongue proves it! Eating a few almonds, watermelon or other fruit will help get it back in balance. It isn't rocket science but it is truly fascinating. While changing my body pH didn't do much to reverse my osteopenia, I'm sure it helped halt it somewhat. I've had to rely on different supplements to help address my bone density which has finally started to improve. But there is no doubt in my mind how important the acid/alkaline balance is to our overall good health and am certain of the benefits it has given me.

© 2014